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2017 was another busy year for us. We were excited to be playing many new gigs, as more and more people across the OKC metro area are drawn to the sound of the bagpipes. We love what we do and love playing for local crowds!

We play many charity gigs throughout the year and they are some of our most memorable. From the gigs to benefit the Bob Stoops charity foundation to those honoring our local law enforcement or military service members, we are honored to play them all.

Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremonies in Oklahoma City and Norman

Celebrating Veteran’s Day in Norman and playing a Veteran’s Memorial Service

As usual, March was filled with our traditional gigs aroundSt. Patrick’s Day.

We froze our kilts off at the Iron Thistle Scottish festival in April and suffered through the heat at Scotfest in Tulsa.

We occasionally enjoy getting out of band uniforms and wearing our family kilts to some functions, including Kirkin’ o’ the tartan celebrations at local churches.

And what kind of pipers would we be if we did not help out the local pubs and breweries in celebrating the release of beer! Here we are celebrating the introduction of Angry Scotsman beer to the Patriarch in Edmond and Oak and Oar in the Plaza District.

We had a very busy 2016, with around 25 public performances, in addition to the many private gigs we do. The band saw the addition of new members as well as the return of some we hadn’t seen in awhile. Below are some pictures from various events throughout the year.

St. Patrick’s Day festivities

We started off the day playing in the OKC St. Patrick’s Day parade with the massed pipes and drums band, made up of various bands across the area. Always a good time.After the parade we played on the outside main stage at the Myriad Gardens. There were many families there and we had a blast.

Guthrie 89er Day Parade

We always enjoy celebrating our state. When you march in the 89er Day parade you have to wear the cowboy hats!

Iron Thistle Games

The band is a frequent participant in the Iron Thistle Scottish Games held in Yukon, OK every April.

Scotfest – Music Festival and Highland Games

The band competed in the pipe band competition at the highland festival in Tulsa, OK in September. We actually tied in our score with another pipe band, but lost the tie-breaker and finished third. It was a good effort all around! Some of our solo pipers brought home the hardware, though!

Members of OSPD competed against three other regional bands in the pipe band competition at the 2015 Scottish festival and games in Tulsa. We are proud to say that we won First Place in Grade V comps! Our first place win also earned us the inaugural Oklahoma Cup, given to the best pipe band in Oklahoma. That gives us bragging rights until the next festival when we will have to defend our title!

The band started off our March Madness month of piping by playing for the 52nd Norman Police Academy graduation on March 5. We have had the honor of playing for their graduating classes for the past few years. Two days later we played at a downtown OKC rally – “E Pluribus Unum” – to support our first responders. OSPD is always proud to support our local men and women in uniform!

It’s been a busy spring piping season. We started off with a rescheduled Kirkin’ of the Tartan celebration at St. Michael’s in Norman. The weather didn’t cooperate again, but we managed to put on a good show!

We had our usual rowdy St. Paddy’s Day weekend of piping. Friday night was piping at Live on the Plaza in the Plaza District in OKC. Always a good time. On Saturday we participated in the OKC St. Patrick’s Day parade with other bands from the area. We met a few “characters” from the floats nearby. Andrew took the time to give a few free drum lessons to some of the other drummers while we were waiting for the parade to start.

St. Patrick’s Day hit on a Monday, but that didn’t stop us. Starting out the day with a couple of hours of piping at VZDs, we then headed to McNellie’s in OKC to play a few sets at their outdoor party. We ended up, as usual, rocking the upstairs at McNellie’s in Norman. No pipe band around gets the crowd as rowdy as we do. Just ask the people on the first floor!

We had the pleasure of piping at a corporate event in Tulsa one Friday evening for the Bama Corporation. The event included a celebration of many different cultures.

Our very own Benny Hughes made the front cover of Senior Life magazine (see below). The article highlights his amazing life. Benny has solidified his legendary status in the piping community. We are thrilled that everyone gets to share in the life of this remarkable man. Congratulations, Benny!

We had a wonderful time piping at the annual Pumpkin Festival held at St. Matthews Church. The church is gracious enough to lend us their facilities for practice two nights a week so the band is more than happy to be able to show our appreciation with a performance or two. We just wish is wasn’t so cold!!

Members of OSPD took first place in the pipe band competition at the Scottish Festival held in Tulsa, OK! We had a lot of competition from some very fine pipe bands in the region but we managed to pull out a win. Additionally, our very own Bryan Crable swept the grade II solo competition. Congratulations, Bryan!

Back in August we celebrated our 15th birthday as a band. Only two members remain from the original group (Paul Sinclair and Benny Hughes). Through the years we have added many new members to our band family, each one offering their own unique gifts to the group. We are a varied bunch, a crazy crew from all walks of life. Yet somehow we make it work and have a heck of a good time along the way. If you were able to join us for our celebration, thanks for sticking with us. If you weren’t able to make it, consider this your invitation to the party for our 20th birthday! Sláinte!

Spring time is our busiest time of year, with festivals, graduations, and St. Patty’s Day fun. OSPD debuted new members and some new uniforms and had a fantastic time! We started off the piping season with a charity event for Bob Stoops. Sorry no pictures allowed. As always, it was a good time and for a good cause and we are happy to do it each year.

We did our St. Patty’s Day “warm up” gig at Live on the Plaza. The weather was on the windy side, but warm enough, and it was a chance to show off our new uniforms – all black. Oh, we looked good.

After another charity gig, we got ready for any bagpipe bands’ dream holiday – St. Patrick’s Day. We played many gigs that day, from playing for our military friends at Tinker AFB to the OKC parade. We again ‘blacked out’ the band – the new uniforms were a hit.

The rest of the day was spent playing and throwing back some pints at a few local pubs….many pictures, few that can be shown publicly. No one needs to see what a bunch of pipers look like at the end of pub crawling on St. Patty’s Day!

One of our most memorable performances was playing at the OKC Memorial Day of Remembrance ceremony on April 19. It was indeed an honor.

We have become regulars at the 89er Day Parade and Iron Thistle Scottish Festival. At Iron Thistle we continue to be a real crowd pleaser year after year – the largest and finest pipe band at the event. This picture ran in The Oklahoman newspaper. We continue to be proud supporters of our local law enforcement. Many members provided solo performances for local police departments during Police Week as well as an OSPD mini-band providing a performance for the Benchmark Police Chief’s Summit in OKC in May.

Our final sheduled performances for the spring season were three different graduation ceremonies for the University of Oklahoma. A tiring day, but we are always willing to play for our friends at OU!

We’ll spend the summer taking some much needed personal time off, learning some new tunes, and maybe getting ready for some piping competitions in the fall!